🍀PBP News #5 | Get Future-Fit!

Dear friend,

We’re on the brink of 2019. It’s time for annual reflection:

• What to continue, what to do differently
• What matters, what doesn’t (or shouldn’t) matter
• Basically, How to live life best…

This issue #5 of 🍀PBP News is about GETTING FUTURE-FIT. It contains little tweaks you can give your mindset, so you can enter the new year of 2019 and continue into the future beyond, with robustness and peace of mind.

1. FOOD FOR THOUGHT 🥦 – Change will never be this slow again! Embrace the future.
2. THE MENTAL FITNESS ROOM 🏋️‍♀️ – Would it help? Get rid of your “diffuse worry”.
3. CATCH OF THE DAY 🐟 – Relaxed readiness. Learn from a man who found his footing.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT 🥦 – Reflections on career and life

*** GET IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT AND EMBRACE THE FUTURE ***

Change will never be this slow again. You might as well face it: Development follows an exponential curve, so no matter where we are on that curve, change will happen faster tomorrow than it is happening today.

This is what it looks like:

This drawing is from Wait But Why, one of our favorite blogs

To some, this unstoppable and increasing change seems stifling. To others, it is highly energizing. No matter which group you belong to, the way to make the most of it is always to get in the driver’s seat of your own life. When everything is up in the air and whirling, catch what is closest and start there.

It’s not hard: Take it easy, get some sleep, think, talk to people you trust, jot your thoughts down. Say no to things, so you can find free space in your calendar, even if it’s only for an hour here and there.

And then, once you’ve found some calm, start planning and doing. Concentrate on the things you can impact – and impact them one step at a time. Adapt to what you cannot impact, but don’t let it worry you too much. Easier said than done, maybe, but true!

HINT HINT! Relationships are key, so start with your relationships and never stop working on them! This goes for the good ones as well as the bad.

The future will always be unknown. It’s quintessential. Learn to like it and to navigate in it. See more in our latest blogpost: Change has never been this slow! What are you going to do about it?

THE MENTAL FITNESS ROOM 🏋️‍♀️ – Piece of advice

*** GET RID OF YOUR “DIFFUSE WORRY” ***

You may have watched Spielberg’s excellent movie Bridge of Spies starring Tom Hanks. It’s a true story about a lawyer who brokered deals for hostages with the Soviet Union during the Cold War in the 1950s. Tom Hanks is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy, Rudolf Abel, in court and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of Abel for a Soviet captured American pilot. Throughout the story – during prison, trial, and hostage negotiations – Abel certainly doesn’t have much going for him, as the prospects of being exchanged look very gloomy. Despite the poor outlook, Abel remains stoic and shows little emotion. Every single time he is asked “Aren’t you worried?” he employs his life philosophy and answers, “Would it help?”

Enjoy this brief example of Rudolf Abel’s deadpan response “Would it help?”

The point of Abel’s “Would it help?” is, of course, that it wouldn’t help to worry. And this should be your Mantra for 2019: WORRY ONLY WHEN IT WILL HELP!

HINT HINT! The answer is never. It never helps to worry. Especially, “diffuse worry” is destructive to your wellbeing and performance. Diffuse worry is the type of concern and unease, for which you don’t know a specific reason. It’s the default negative behavior instead of the default positive behavior.

GET RID OF YOUR DIFFUSE WORRY by applying this anti-stress philosophy:

CATCH OF THE DAY 🐟 – Miscellaneous

*** RELAXED READINESS – TESTIMONIAL ***

Meet Lasse Rich Henningsen, one of Stephen Bruyant-Langer’s coaching clients.

Lasse is the successful CEO of a culture and concert hall, Musikkens Hus, in Aalborg, Denmark, and Chairman of Nordic Concert Halls. He is an ambitious and hard-working leader, who was recently elected Leader of the Year 2018 by The Danish Association of Managers and Executives.

Lasse used to be all over the place, calling himself “the tension spring Lasse”. And this behavior didn’t work for him. He wasted too much energy, didn’t thrive. He felt a great deal of the DIFFUSE WORRY mentioned above.

Wonderfully, Lasse has found his footing. He has become a new man and a better leader. In this video, he generously shares with us how he managed to obtain his transformation. We hope Lasse’s story will inspire you.

So, dear friends, as we move into yet another untouched year – 365 fresh days – we urge you to spend them consciously and wisely. Breathe, focus, and enjoy!

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Warm regards,

Mette and Stephen Bruyant-Langer
Founders of The Personal Business Plan